My Print and Note Card Shop is Live!
My print and notecard shop is live! Visit my website at www.kathleenbcostello.com/store to see the finished result. The Purple Finch pictured above is the latest available for purchase. So many of you have supported me with your encouraging words, actual help with the process, or by making a purchase, and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks -- this never would have happened without you!
For those of you that read my two part blog post ‘It’s About Time’, you may be wondering how the planning process I laid out in this article helped me to reach my goal. While this method did not answer all the questions along the way or provide the perfect road map, it did help me immensely with establishing (and revising) a realistic timeline, and giving me actionable goals to tackle in a logical order. By doing the bulk of the organizing before even starting the project, and by giving myself weekly tasks to accomplish, I significantly reduced the amount of anxiety and stress I believe I would have otherwise felt. It also gave me more information when dealing with vendors and tech support along the way, enabling me to be more specific with my requests, and also offering more flexibility when it came to timing and deadlines. Because I had a clarity of vision for the store -- not just what it would look like, but what the experience would be like -- I had a strong reference for all the smaller decisions that were made along the way.
All that being said, I still found myself on a steep learning curve during this process! I thought it might be valuable for me to share some of the things I learned, or was reminded of throughout the course of starting this business. Here are my top three:
Things worth doing require some sort of risk
Often that risk is financial, but it has only been by stepping out that I have realized how much deeper the risk goes. I have felt vulnerability in every area of my life since making this decision. By choosing to turn a passion into a business I have been forced to look at myself differently, and simply making the announcement that my online store was open for orders caused something to shift. It was like turning a key and crossing the threshold into a newly rented office space. Looking around at this imaginary empty space is tinged with both that familiar fear of failure, and also a beautiful possibility of unexplored opportunity. A true commitment changes things, and in this case an idea was transformed into a reality.
Surprisingly, one of the biggest areas I found to be associated with risk was time. Ultimately a finite and non-renewable resource, spending time on one thing means not spending it on something else. Perhaps it is ironic that this whole plan was hatched from a blog post on productivity and time management! But perhaps not, as the point of that particular activity was to prove that with realistic and thoughtful planning a goal can be realized. This endeavor did take longer than I thought it would to launch, and other projects were sidelined in order to make it happen, but with time and perseverance, it was possible.
The Behind the Scenes is always busier than we think it is
Many years ago I gathered with a few musician friends to brainstorm and hash out what would eventually become my chamber group, IonSound Project. We were all young with our shiny new music degrees, already tired of waiting for others to offer us opportunities. Our heads full of idealistic notions and elaborate projects, we dove in, and started the long process of learning by doing. One of the most sobering lessons was just how much work it took to pull a concert together start to finish. We had to learn how to market and advertise, write press releases, create programs, find venues and collaborators, act as our own stage crew, and much more. This process gave me a deep appreciation for all the work and expertise that goes into running a successful performing ensemble.
Putting together my own business has been similar. Despite all my life experience, I was surprised by all the details involved in creating something that looked polished and ran smoothly -- and I don’t even have a physical storefront! I was also surprised by how much joy and pleasure I derived from assembling note cards into pleasing bundles, approving proofs, and getting the look of the website just right. It is no accident that the creative process is so often compared to childbirth. The act of birthing something is arduous and difficult, but also paves the way for pride and joy.
Acknowledgements are necessary
I have a confession to make: I always skip the ‘Acknowledgements’ section of a book I am reading, and I have always tuned out at the Oscars when the award recipient launches into a tearful and breathless thank you list starting with their Kindergarten teacher and ending with their limo driver (and yet they always seem to leave out someone like their spouse!) The point remains that big tasks take support systems. Whether or not someone chooses to read your acknowledgements, or listens to your acceptance speech, they remain important to express. In addition to needing to thank all of you, I need to thank Birmingham Color Graphics for doing an amazing job with image capture and production, Karen Cubides and her team at KCA for her expert advice and their help with the website, and of course my family for their constant support, patience, and encouragement. My husband, Ryan Beach has spent many hours helping me to produce content for social media, and my daughter has helped with packaging and product fulfillment. They say it takes a village (or is that just for raising children?) I think this quote fits the bill perfectly:
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”
-- H. E. Luccock